This blog is an exploration of principled problem solving which is an initiative at Guilford College encouraging a focus of people's abilities and experiences toward solving real-world problems under the guidance of the college’s core values of community, diversity, equality, excellence, integrity, justice and stewardship.

01/17/2014

The Interrupters by David Wheaton

The film “The Interrupters” is a film about a group of people in Chicago who try to stop violence before it starts. The film was very impactful to me because it gave me a viewpoint of what the conditions are in Chicago. Growing up in the inner city I have seen poverty and crime but never a group of people brave enough to try to stop violence in conflict driven areas. The core value that this film relates to is community. This film shows how when a community can come together positive things can happen.

The Violence Interrupters is an organization that tries to combat the violence that has been an ongoing epidemic in Chicago. The organization is made up of ex-gang members and members of the community who are tired of youth violence occurring on the streets. Every member receives training on how to diffuse situations and “interrupt” violence. The film follows three of the Interrupters and their daily struggle of what goes on in their community. The film brought to my attention the need for communities to stand up and make a difference.

The film was a part of a film series that occurred on Guilford College’s campus. The lead sponsor was the American Friends Service Committee, which is an advocacy group that promotes peace and justice. After the movie we debriefed by describing what the film meant to us. One girl said “It made me think of community in a different way, we have to help each other and cannot be numb to other people’s pain.” Community is about bringing people together, and that is what the film represented. Each interrupter got a chance to impact somebody’s life and gave them a different alternative than violence. They went inside the community and gave life to a community that for a long time knew nothing but death.

As a member of Guilford College’s Principled Problem Solving Scholars Program, the film left me thinking about other solutions to the problem of youth violence in Chicago. The film talks about economic support, which I think is vital in trying to revitalize a community. The youth need jobs and better schools and until the city of Chicago can provide that then unfortunately the violence will continue. The film helped me connect with Guilford’s core value of community in a lot of ways. It let me see that as members of a community we have help each other and love each other in times of downfall. We also cannot be afraid to speak up, and be brave enough like the Interrupters were to stop something that is detrimental to our community.

Comments

The Interrupters by David Wheaton

The film “The Interrupters” is a film about a group of people in Chicago who try to stop violence before it starts. The film was very impactful to me because it gave me a viewpoint of what the conditions are in Chicago. Growing up in the inner city I have seen poverty and crime but never a group of people brave enough to try to stop violence in conflict driven areas. The core value that this film relates to is community. This film shows how when a community can come together positive things can happen.

The Violence Interrupters is an organization that tries to combat the violence that has been an ongoing epidemic in Chicago. The organization is made up of ex-gang members and members of the community who are tired of youth violence occurring on the streets. Every member receives training on how to diffuse situations and “interrupt” violence. The film follows three of the Interrupters and their daily struggle of what goes on in their community. The film brought to my attention the need for communities to stand up and make a difference.

The film was a part of a film series that occurred on Guilford College’s campus. The lead sponsor was the American Friends Service Committee, which is an advocacy group that promotes peace and justice. After the movie we debriefed by describing what the film meant to us. One girl said “It made me think of community in a different way, we have to help each other and cannot be numb to other people’s pain.” Community is about bringing people together, and that is what the film represented. Each interrupter got a chance to impact somebody’s life and gave them a different alternative than violence. They went inside the community and gave life to a community that for a long time knew nothing but death.

As a member of Guilford College’s Principled Problem Solving Scholars Program, the film left me thinking about other solutions to the problem of youth violence in Chicago. The film talks about economic support, which I think is vital in trying to revitalize a community. The youth need jobs and better schools and until the city of Chicago can provide that then unfortunately the violence will continue. The film helped me connect with Guilford’s core value of community in a lot of ways. It let me see that as members of a community we have help each other and love each other in times of downfall. We also cannot be afraid to speak up, and be brave enough like the Interrupters were to stop something that is detrimental to our community.